Witness Radio Statement on the International Human Rights Day 2024: A call to the government of Uganda to protect Land and Environmental Rights Defenders and Communities affected by irresponsible land-based investments in Uganda.

For immediate release

Statement on International Human Rights Day 2024:

Witness Radio calls out the government of Uganda to protect Land and Environmental Rights Defenders and Communities affected by irresponsible land-based investments in Uganda.

Wakiso: Uganda, December 10th, 2024; Anchored to the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Witness Radio stands together with Land and Environmental Rights Defenders, communities affected by irresponsible land-based investments in Uganda, and Human Rights Defenders across the globe in urging Government of Uganda to uphold and fulfill their obligations to protect and respect human rights in the context of land-based business operations and to ensure access to an effective remedy for individuals and groups affected by such activities, specifically land and environmental rights defenders.

As the world commemorates International Human Rights Day on December 10th, 2024, under the theme;

Our rights, our future, right now, Witness Radio has, in a period of the first 6 months of the year 2024, documented over 360,000 people who faced forceful evictions from the lands that had fed them for generations. This has led to various unbearable environmental and social issues, including violations of community rights during forceful evictions and threats to water sources, the environment, and food security. For instance, the use of agrochemicals in the newly acquired lands has led to pollution, affecting the health of the local communities.

Communities whose rights and interests on land have been forcefully transferred to land-based investors in agribusiness, carbon-offset tree plantations, oil and gas extraction, mining, and infrastructural development projects highlight concerns over food shortages, livelihoods; inadequate compensation; restricted land access; and impacts on children’s education, safety, and welfare, including gender-based violence (GBV) and reproductive health issues.

A recent report by Witness Radio Uganda, released in November 2024, paints a dire picture. Between January and June 2024, more than 360,000 people faced violent evictions, with over 121,000 hectares of land under threat. Nearly four cases of land evictions were reported weekly, affecting approximately 15,126 people and threatening 5,060.12 hectares of land across the country. An estimated 2,160 Ugandans faced evictions daily to give way to investments, with 723 hectares of land at risk of being grabbed daily. This is a crisis that demands immediate attention.

The land grabs are happening on abandoned national ranches and forests, which have long since been settled and farmed by people who came to the area fleeing war and natural calamities in neighboring areas. Although compulsory land acquisition falls within government powers in Uganda, corporations interested in specific land and their agents have been left responsible for managing much of the process and setting compensation values. This has led to serious problems with how the land acquisition process is being conducted, resulting in severe impacts on affected communities, which have infringed on the rights to property, involuntary resettlement, housing, earning a livelihood, food, private and family life, and trading and disposing of natural wealth and resources.

Land and Environmental Rights Defenders are the unsung heroes in this battle for justice. They are often the only force between ordinary people and unbridled power. However, their efforts are frequently met with judicial harassment in the form of criminalization for offensive gatherings, criminal trespass, and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) to discourage peaceful demonstrations against unlawful evictions, arbitrary detention, and defamation. Their importance cannot be overstated, and the injustices they face are a stark reminder of the need for change.

On this International Human Rights Day, it is crucial that duty-bearers recognize the gravity of the crisis in Uganda. The Government of Uganda should commit to and urgently implement universal respect, protection, and fulfillment of human rights for everyone and everywhere in the country. This is not just a call for action but a demand for justice and equality. We urge the government to act now, before more lives and livelihoods are lost.

Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now

Signed by;

Jeff Wokulira Ssebaggala.

For Witness Radio – Uganda